11 Black cultural heritage sites to visit in town

In honor of Black History Month, here are eleven historic African American cultural heritage destinations in Jacksonville to visit.

Cedar Point Preserve

7222 Cedar Point Rd.

The ruins of the Fitzpatrick Plantation at Cedar Point are near the southern tip of Black Hammock Island. Built in the late 1700s, land was originally granted to Samuel Mills and later acquired by the Fitzpatrick family. Enslaved African laborers were forced to produce salt by boiling seawater. The plantation was destroyed by Union forces during the Civil War. Today, Cedar Point is a part of the National Park Service’s Timucuan Ecological and Historic Preserve. (Courtesy of Ennis Davis, AICP)

Dr. Eartha M.M. White Historical Museum

613 W. Ashley St.

The Clara White Mission was dedicated in 1947 at 613 West Ashley Street in LaVilla, the Eartha M.M. White Historical Museum celebrates the legacy of Dr. Eartha Mary Magdalene White, Florida’s first Black female millionaire. This second floor museum features photos, artifacts, and stories highlighting her remarkable life and connections to figures like Booker T. Washington, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Dr. Mary McLeod Bethune, Ray Charles and Eleanor Roosevelt.

Henry L. Aaron Field at James P. Small Memorial Stadium

1701 Myrtle Ave. N.

Built in 1912 at 1701 Myrtle Avenue, Durkee Field was home to the Negro League’s Jacksonville Red Caps, Florida’s first major league team. Baseball greats like Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, and Henry Aaron once played here. Now known as Hank L. Aaron Field at James P. Small Memorial Stadium, the ballpark’s baseball museum and children’s playground capture the rich history of the sport in Jacksonville and the surrounding Durkeeville neighborhood.

Fort Caroline National Memorial

12751 Fort Caroline Rd.

The Fort Caroline National Memorial at 12713 Fort Caroline Road commemorates the 1564 French settlement led by René Goulaine de Laudonnière, which included free African Moors. In 1565, the Spanish from St. Augustine captured the fort, ending the French presence. Though its true site remains lost, a replica now stands within the 50,000-acre Timucuan Ecological and Historic Preserve, which includes the Timucuan Preserve Visitor Center pictured above. (Courtesy of the State Archives of Florida)

Lift Ev’ry Voice & Sing Park

120 Lee St.

Lift Ev’ry Voice and Sing Park in LaVilla stands on the historic site where brothers James Weldon and John Rosamond Johnson wrote the iconic anthem in 1900. First performed by students at the Stanton Institute, it became the NAACP’s official “Black National Anthem” in 1919. Completed in 2024, the park honors the Johnsons with landscaped grounds, exhibits, and markers celebrating LaVilla’s enduring legacy of Black culture, creativity, and pride. (Courtesy of Ennis Davis, AICP)

Kingsley Plantation

11676 Palmetto Ave.

Established in 1793 by South Carolinian John McQueen with 300 enslaved Africans, Kingsley Plantation changed hands several times before Zephaniah Kingsley, Jr. acquired it in 1817. Kingsley, known as one of Florida’s most controversial enslavers, married Anna Madgigine Jai, a Wolof woman from present-day Senegal, who managed the plantation in his absence cultivating sea island cotton, rice and citrus. After Kingsley’s death, in 1843, Anna successfully defended her inheritance in an 1846 Duval County court, a rare legal victory for a Black woman in the antebellum South. With many of its structures still surviving on an isolated sea island, the property was acquired by the National Park Service, becoming a part of the Timucuan Ecological and Historic Preserve in 1991.

Mandarin Museum and Historical Society

11964 Mandarin Rd.

Since its 2004 opening at 11964 Mandarin Road, the Mandarin Museum & Historical Society has enhanced the original exhibits so visitors can explore some of the people and events that shaped the Mandarin community. Featured Gullah Geechee related exhibits include the wreck of the Civil War steamboat Maple Leaf, a 1898 St. Joseph’s Mission Schoolhouse for African American children, pictured above, and the Untold Story of Black Mandarin permanent exhibit.

Norman Studios

6337 Arlington Rd.

Located at 6337 Arlington Road, Norman Studios, originally the Norman Film Manufacturing Company, was founded by Richard Edward Norman and operated from 1919 to 1928, producing silent films with all-Black casts. Designated a National Historic Landmark, the site now serves as a museum celebrating early Black cinema and silent film history. Free public tours are offered on the first and third Saturday of each month.

Old City Cemetery

911 N. Washington St.

Old City Cemetery, located at 911 North Washington Street, was gifted to Jacksonville in 1852 by steamboat captain Charles Willey. It dates to 1827, and has segregated Black and White sections. It is known for its ornate ironwork and hand-carved tombstones. It contains graves of prominent 19th-century citizens, freedmen, U.S. Colored Troops, Masons, and religious groups. Notable burials include Clara and Eartha White, Dr. Alexander Darnes, and Ghanaian minister Princess Laura Adorkor Kofi.

Reddie Point Preserve

4499 Yachtman Way

A popular fishing and hiking destination, Reddie Point Preserve’s history dates to the late 1700s, when Captain William Reddy operated an 800-acre plantation during Florida’s British period. After the Civil War, the Gullah Geechee community of Chaseville emerged as Samuel Chase employed former U.S. Colored Troops at his Reddy Point shipyard. In 2002, the 102 acres that make up Reddie Point Preserve were purchased by the City of Jacksonville.

Ritz Theatre & Museum

829 N. Davis St.

The Ritz Theatre and Museum, located at 829 North Davis Street, celebrates the city’s rich Black heritage and Gullah Geechee culture. Originally opened in 1929 as a movie theater for Black audiences, it closed in 1971. Reopened in 1999 as a 32,000-square-foot, 426-seat museum and performing arts venue, the Ritz preserves and showcases African American history and life in Northeast Florida and the broader African Diaspora.

Editorial by Ennis Davis, AICP. Contact Ennis at edavis@moderncities.com